Fruitland Park commissioners set the property tax rate for the next fiscal year, approved their annual budget and passed an ordinance that allows the Villages to develop an additional 24 new homes in the Villages of Fruitland Park next year.
That ordinance—a relatively minor alteration with no fiscal impact, according to the city’s Community Development Director—is the first amendment to the Development Order that governs the Villages of Fruitland Park. A first reading of the ordinance passed two weeks ago with little discussion. Last night’s second reading engendered no discussion.
Commissioners set next year’s property tax rate at 4.7371 mills, or approximately $4.73 for every $1,000 in property value after exemptions. That’s the same as last year’s rate, but five percent higher than the city’s “Roll Back” rate, the millage rate the city would require in order to collect the same amount in property tax revenues as last year.
The slight increase is the result of increased property values, a sign of the recovering economy.
Commissioner Chris Cheshire, who heads a multi-disciplinary medical practice in The Villages and serves on the board of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, was the sole commissioner to cast a nay vote on both the budget and the tax rate.
“I don’t think this is the time to raise taxes for the residents of Fruitland Park,” Cheshire explained after the meeting.
Property taxes will raise about $770,000 for the city next year. The city’s annual budget is $5.76 million.
